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June 17, 2008

They're Here, They're Queer — Throw Rice!

In addition to couples, gay and straight, who came to City Hall to get married, and their small entourages of friends and family, the rotunda seemed to be full of random well-wishers, standing around the base of the grand staircase and applauding and cheering pretty much any same-sex pair walking down from the upper floor, where hastily deputized deputies performed the civil ceremonies in letter-designated areas set aside for the purpose.

More photos (happy couples!) after the jump!

Some couples were dressed fairly informally: We saw two women
perhaps in their early forties come down the stairs with matching
bouquets. One had a white sweater, the other a white top, but without
the flowers, you wouldn’t have looked at them twice at your morning
staff meeting. At the same time, a pair of men on the far side of fifty
stood hand-in-hand in very dapper suits (and a great sense of color)
and matching black, small-brimmed fedoras.

Paul Stevens and Ron Weaver got hitched in traditional formalwear, and
Amber Weiss and Sharon Papo made a splash in a pair of elegant wedding
dresses.

Photographers from news outlets worldwide swarmed the couples, but
there was none of the hectic push and shove you’d associate with
paparazzi. Even focused professional photogs seemed to share the happy
mood of the occasion, and trust us, that’s saying something.

At the same time, random individuals snapped shots with tiny
point-and-clicks. A tall, white-clad bride stood just behind one of the
rotunda’s thick plaster columns, and a young woman moved around to
click a digital snapshot. She saw the bride accompanied by a tuxedoed
groom, hesitated, and snapped the shot anyway. “They’re a nice-looking
couple, too,” she said, returning to a friend.

Newlyweds stepped out of City Hall into another clutch of
photographers and spectators, rainbow flags and well-wishing
demonstrators with upbeat signs. The Loyal Opposition did not make an
appearance amid the celebrators, but there were a few people trying, at
least half-heartedly, to get ahead.

A local radio station passed out something sparkly in logo’d flutes,
someone had an enormous marble cake sitting on the concrete steps, and
one sign-toting fellow was apparently trying to get in on the action —
though as late as 2:30 he said no one had come out of the well-run City
Hall in need of an extra minister. His wife, Susan Hancock, was with
him, though, passing out flowers to newlyweds.